Boys Lead Foundation is taking its approach to boys’ development beyond mentorship and conversation by creating opportunities for boys to build, innovate and see themselves as contributors to the world around them.
That approach was on display at the Boypreneur Hackathon & Pitch, held at Brampton City Hall on May 16, 2026, as part of the Global Boys Summit 2026.
The initiative gave boys an opportunity to bring forward ideas, develop solutions, pitch their work and compete for recognition, placing entrepreneurship and innovation within the wider conversation about how boys are prepared for adulthood and leadership.
One of the highlights of the event was 13-year-old Shravil Shukla, who was named Canada Boypreneur Innovator 2026 and received the $1,000 grand prize for ZeroDrain, an AI-powered system that uses smart sensors to reduce phantom power waste in homes and buildings.
For Boys Lead founder, Owolabi Williams, creating opportunities like these is part of a much bigger vision for boys’ development.
“We need more FOUNDERS in the BOYS’ development space, especially MEN willing to build institutions, not just show up for a season,” Williams said.
That philosophy is reflected in the organisation’s growing work across countries. Boys Lead Foundation was established to intentionally develop boys and young men through mentoring, leadership, education, character formation, entrepreneurship, skills development and community engagement.
Through its programmes and initiatives, the organisation has reached more than 20,000 boys and young men across the United States, Canada, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and other communities internationally.
The Boypreneur initiative represents one part of that wider approach. Rather than seeing boys only through the challenges they face, Boys Lead is also creating spaces where they can experiment, solve problems, develop confidence and take their ideas seriously.
The Global Boys Summit 2026 provided the broader platform for this work, bringing together boys and young men, parents, educators, policymakers, advocates and other stakeholders to discuss the future of boys across areas including leadership and positive masculinity, mentorship and safe spaces, education, entrepreneurship, wellbeing, safety and community development.
The summit also built on Brampton’s 2025 proclamation of May 16 as International Boys Day, which the organisers describe as the first city-wide proclamation of its kind.
For Williams, the work goes beyond organising individual programmes. It is about building institutions and creating sustained opportunities for boys to develop into capable, responsible and contributing men.
The story of Boypreneur offered a practical example of that vision.
A 13-year-old boy walked into a room with an idea, built a solution around a real problem and left as a recognised young innovator.
For Boys Lead, that is part of what intentional boys’ development can look like: not simply preparing boys for the future, but giving them opportunities to begin shaping it now.
